ROMANIA

GENERAL GEOLOGY &

FACTORS OF RISK
Prisac Daniela University of Poliba
Geologia Applicata
General structural geology of Europe
Geographical location of Romania
Romania is situated at the convergence of 3 tectonic plates
East European Plate
•

Moesian microoplate
•

Intracarpathian microplate
•
Topography
 Romania's natural landscape is almost evenly
divided among mountains(31%), plains(33%),
and hills(36%).
 The Carpathian Mountains are the major relief that is
present in Romania’s territory. And their elevation
can reach more than 2,500 meters, above sea level.
 The arc of the Carpathians extends over 1,000
kilometers through the center of the country,
covering an area of 71,000 square kilometers.
Physical map of Romania
Natural Mineral Resources
Generally, in the list of natural resources are included diferent tipes of minerals
as:
 hydrocarbons,

 common clay,

 coal,

 salts,

 alloys,

 non-metallic salts,

 useful rocks,

 mineral waters

 therapeutic streams

Depending on each platform, there will be found a different quantities of all the
useful minerals mentioned above, and more.
Engineering input
 Studies of aerial photographs and satellite imagery
give valuable information regarding
geomorphology, geology, groundwater condition,
and surface water distribution.
 They also help in the evaluation of vegetation
cover and ground stability and in the preparation of
maps delineating the slide-prone areas showing old
slides and recent slope failures.
Applications of remote sensing
 The imagery obtained by orbiting satellites provides a good
amount of information regarding topography, vegetation,
hydrology, and atmosphere of the earth.
 Remote sensing techniques facilitate comparative
assessment of a changing landform of surface features from
survey by flights over the same area conducted in different
periods.
 This helps in identifying the effects of natural calamities
such as earthquakes and landslides even on remote
localities including those on engineering structures from
the study of the changing images of an area before and
after e natural hazards.
Example of Lidar observation
General Natural Hazards
The list of the most common natural hazards that
affect the Romanian territory are the following:
 Earthquakes

 Land slides

 Volcanic eruptions

 Soil erosion (surface)

Earthquakes
 Caused by the convergence of the tectonic plates,
their joint location is Vrancea, the biggest epicenter
in Romania.
 The most seismic zone in Romania is Vrancea.
 In Romania, earthquakes frequently occur.
 Romania has a major seismic risk with respect to
earthquakes between 6 - 7 degrees on the Richter
scale.
How they occur
 Initially, scientists have found that earthquakes
were caused by heavy rains and flooding in the
area.
 But the blame should be an oldest fault, a
seismically sensitive area, which was reactivated.
 The first conclusions of experts, based on data
collected are that earthquakes can be natural
(mechanical suffusion) or anthropogenic
(extraction activity based on injection wells
Representation of seismic activity in Romania in the
last 10 years
Land slides
The landslides can be formed due to:
 forest clearing (trees fix the soil and prevent such

incidents)
 earthquakes

 abundant rainfall in a certain area (the earth is

softened and slopes off)

Last year (2018) was documented as the year with the
most land slides recorded so far. It is the most
common hazard that occurs in Romania.
It is a common hazard in Romania
Mostly it occur in the Carpathian Mountains and hilly regions,
on more than 60% of the territory
Land slide caused by flood
Sinkholes

Cauze
Volcanoes
 Romania has a small amount of active volcanoes
on the territory.
 The ones that are active are considered “muddy
volcanoes”, because they don’t have a real risk of
harming the land near them, and they consist of a
mud like lava of minerals that doesn’t have a real
effect.
 Other volcanoes are simply not active and lake
craters have formed inside them.
Muddy volcanoe
Lake Crater “Sfanta Ana”
Desertification
 In Romania drought and desertification are:
- from natural causes
- from anthropogenic causes (deforestation,
destruction of irrigation etc.)
 In the last century - increase in the average annual
temperature with 0.5 degrees C.
 A more pronounced warming (0.8 degrees) was
manifested in the S and SE, where the average annual
temperature has reached 11 degrees, with more than 3
degrees higher than in the N.